Arctophila superbiens gives the appearance of an entirely orange-haired bumblebee but with a dark patch on the wing below the stigma. Sometimes the hairs are grey rather than orange-brown. The thorax always has a yellowish ground colour, but the abdomen may either have a similar background colour or be vaguely blackish.

It is largely a northern and western species in the UK that is relatively frequent in west Wales and parts of south-west and north-west England. It is also widespread in Scotland, though rather localised. It is largely absent from south-east England, but old records are known from woodland in the Cotswolds and Berkshire.

Adults favour the margins and clearings of wet acidic woodlands and are particularly attracted by the flowers of the Devil's-bit scabious at the end of the summer (as in the photograph above). Active May to November, peaking in September.

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